Title: Task Force to Promote Self-esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility Records

Dates: 1986-1990

Collection number: R390

Creator:
Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility

Collection Size:
5.5 cubic feet of textual records

Repository:
California State Archives

Sacramento, California

Abstract: The Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility was established by Statutes 1986, Chapter 1065
(AB3659, Vasconcellos) as a three year, twenty-five-member task force to investigate the effect self-esteem has on society.
The Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility Records consists of five and one-half cubic feet
of textual material and five cubic feet of audiovisual material covering the years 1987-1990.

Physical location: California State Archives

Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English

Administrative Information

Access

While the majority of the records are open for research, any access restrictions are noted in the record series descriptions.

Publication Rights

For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the California State Archives. Permission for reproduction or publication
is given on behalf of the California State Archives as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility
for possible infringement which may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives
collections.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility Records, R390.[Series Number],
[box and folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.

Acquisition and Custodial History

The California State Archives acquired the Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility Records
according to state law.

Administrative History

The Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility was established by Statutes 1986, Chapter 1065
(AB3659, Vasconcellos) as a three year, twenty-five-member task force to investigate the effect self-esteem has on society.
The task force lasted from 1987 to 1989 and released its final report, Toward a State of Esteem, in 1990. Assembly member
John Vasconcellos and Senator Art Torres were ex facto members.

In the 1987-1988 session the State Assembly passed ACR 64 and ACR 65, both authored by John Vasconcellos. ACR 64 recommended
the creation of self-esteem task forces at the county level and over forty-five counties responded by creating task forces
that mirrored the statewide task force. ACR 65 called on state agencies to cooperate and communicate with the Task Force
to Promote Self-Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility.

In order to pursue its mandate, the task force consisted of five committees: executive; media and communications; public involvement;
resources; and program quality. The various committees aided in creating the final report and in coordinating public meetings
and hearings. The Assembly enacted the task force as a cost-effective means of reducing and eliminating social problems. After
publishing the final report, the State Legislature did not create a replacement task force or extend the mandate.

The task force held nine public meetings:

March 4, 1988 in San Jose

May 20, 1988 in Fresno

August 26, 1988 in San Diego

September 26, 1988 in San Francisco

October 12, 1988 in Humboldt County

February 2, 1988 in Orange County

March 2, 1988 in Long Beach

March 16,1988 in Los Angeles

April 11, 1988 in Sacramento.

Scope and Content

The Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility Record consists of five and one-half cubic feet
of textual material and five cubic feet of audiovisual material covering the years 1987-1990. The collection is organized
into fourteen series: Publications, Final Report Files, Committee Files, County Task Force Files, Member Files, Meeting Packet
Files, Meeting Files, "Think Tank" Files, ACR Files, Statewide Task Force Public Hearing Files, "Esteem" Back Issues, Press
Files, Correspondence, and State Agency Correspondence. The textual records contain primarily correspondence, memorandum,
minutes, newspaper articles, reports, and meeting notes. Audiovisual materials are of hearings and meetings. The scope of
the Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility records cover the three-year period of the task
force's existence and its investigation into self-esteem as a social issue. Topics include self-esteem research, committee
activities, task force communication with the county task forces and with other state agencies, creating the final report,
and promoting self-esteem as a legitimate state expense.

The files reflect ambivalence on self-esteem's affect on society. Task force members disagreed on the definition of self-esteem
so completely that the task force set up a definition committee to evaluate the task force's various working definitions and
create a more agreeable definition. To further help define self-esteem, the task force members contacted experts who were
not associated with task force's work. One of the most contentious areas was how much personal responsibility was involved
in self-esteem. Some members argued that self-esteem could not exist without someone taking personal responsibility for their
actions while others argued that personal responsibility could only be achieved after someone developed positive self-esteem.
Another area of disagreement was the role of family and faith in developing self-esteem. While some task force members viewed
faith and the family as the original sources of positive self-esteem, others view society as the starting point of self-esteem.
This fundamental disagreement on the definition of self-esteem lasted until the final report, which contains several dissenting
or minority opinions relating to the final report's content.

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.

California Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem, and Personal and Social Responsibility

Self-esteem

Self-esteem Religious aspects

Series Descriptions

ID R390.01, Box 1, Folders 1-2

Series 1
Publications1989-1990

Physical Description: 2 file folders

Access Information

Access to audiovisual material requires the production of use copies.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically.

Scope and Content Note

Publications contain the final report, Toward a State of Esteem and the accompanying Appendix. Also within the series is a
book the committee was instrumental in publishing, Social Importance of Self-Esteem. An audiotape recording of the final report's
press release is also included.

ID R390.02, Box 1, Folders 3-5

Series 2
Final Report Files1987-1990

Physical Description: 3 file folders

Access Information

Access to audiovisual material requires the production of use copies.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically.

Scope and Content Note

The Final Report files consist of correspondence, annual reports, and final report drafts related to the task force's final
report published in January 1990. The final report drafts include drafts from the task force committees. The series contains
audio recordings of the Seventh Annual State Conference on Self-Esteem from 1989 and the May 1990 Toward a State of Esteem
summit. A videotape recording of the CBS Morning Program from February 2, 1987 can be found within the files.

ID R390.03, Box 1, Folders 6-8

Series 3
Committee Files1987-1989

Physical Description: 3 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetical by committee.

Scope and Content Note

The Committee Files include final and draft reports, lists of committee memberships, committee chair files, meeting minutes
and agendas, memoranda, and committee information regarding the final report, budget issues, defining self-esteem, and public
awareness of self-esteem issues.

ID R390.04, Box 1-2, Folders 9-12

Series 4
County Task Force Files1987-1990

Physical Description: 25 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by county.

Scope and Content Note

Files consist of correspondence with county level self-esteem task forces and include minutes and agendas of several county
level task force meetings, recommendations to the county task forces, resolutions and proclamations establishing the county
level task forces, and county reports.

ID R390.05, Box 2-3, Folders 13-2

Series 5
Member Files1987-1989

Physical Description: 11 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by month.

Scope and Content Note

Member files contain correspondence, news clippings, final report drafts, memoranda, and biographies on task force members.
The files cover such topics as the final report, task force members' minority report ideas, members' discussion on subjects
not covered in the final report, and member opinions on self-esteem.

ID R390.06, Box 3, Folders 3-6

Series 6
Meeting Packet Files1987

Physical Description: 4 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by meeting packet.

Scope and Content Note

Meeting Packet files contain packets given to task force members for general and committee meetings in 1987. They include
agendas and meeting minutes, budget analyses, information regarding the county task forces, and procedural activities relating
to initial task force activity and establishing administrative procedure.

ID R390.07, Box 3, Folders 7-8

Series 7
Meeting Files1987-1988

Physical Description: 2 file folders

Access Information

Access to audiovisual material requires the production of use copies.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by meeting.

Scope and Content Note

Meeting Files contain agendas and minutes of meetings, photographs, the photographic negatives, videotapes and audiotape recordings
of task force meetings. Issues discussed at the meetings include defining self-esteem, budget issues, self-esteem research
from the University of California, and possible areas of further research.

ID R390.08, Box 3, Folders 9-10

Series 8
"Think Tank" Files. 1988

Physical Description: 2 file folders

Access Information

Access to audiovisual material requires the production of use copies.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

Scope and Content Note

The "Think Tank" files relate to a meeting on May 4, 1988, organized by executive director George Ball regarding the nature
of self-esteem. The meeting was designed to expand the scope of the task force's understanding of current research. The files
include agenda and minutes of the meeting, correspondence, academic papers, and notes from the meeting as well as audio and
video records.

ID R390.09, Box 3, Folders 11

Series 9
ACR Files1987

Physical Description: 1 file folder

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by month.

Scope and Content Note

Files consist primarily of correspondence and relate to Assembly Concurrent Resolution 64 (1987-1988) and ACR 65 (1987-1988),
which called on county and state officials to maintain contacts with the task force.

ID R390.10, Box 3-4, Folders 11-6

Series 10
Statewide Task Force Public Hearing Files1988-1989

Physical Description: 18 file folders

Access Information

Access to audiovisual material requires the production of use copies.

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by date of hearing.

Scope and Content Note

The files relate to the nine public hearings that the task force held throughout the state from March 4, 1988 to April 11,
1989, and include agendas, audio recordings, video recordings, transcripts, testimony, background reports, and working files.
The Fresno hearing of May 20, 1988 is the only hearing without an audio recording. The Sacramento hearing on April 11, 1989
has audio and visual records.

ID R390.11, Box 4, Folders 7

Series 11
"Esteem" Back Issues1987-1990

Physical Description: 1 file folder

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by newsletter.

Scope and Content Note

The file consists of issues of the task force's official newsletter "Esteem." The newsletter addressed the task force's activities
such as announcing public hearings and public meetings as well as describing the task force's progress on the final report.
"Esteem" also mentioned non-task force, self-esteem related research and publications. The first issue is not within the collection.

ID R390.12, Box 4, Folders 8-11

Series 12
Press Files1986-1990

Physical Description: 4 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by year.

Scope and Content Note

Press files consist of newspaper and magazine articles relating to the task force. This includes several interviews with John
Vasconcellos and editorials on the task force. Cartoonist Gary Trudeau's Doonsebury appears frequently as a prominent critic
of the task force's mission.

ID R390.13, Box 4-6, Folders 12-6

Series 13
Correspondence1987-1990

Physical Description: 37 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by month.

Scope and Content Note

The series contains incoming and outgoing correspondence concerning various administrative aspects of the task force. Common
topics relate to donations, the newsletter, and responses to concerned citizens who critiqued or criticized the task force's
work.

ID R390.14, Box 6, Folders 7-9

Series 14
State Agency Correspondence1987-1989

Physical Description: 3 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically.

Scope and Content Note

The series contains correspondence with various state agencies, county task forces, the state legislature, and the federal
government regarding other agencies assisting in researching self-esteem and social issues.